Single Review: Chris Stapleton, “Broken Halos”

Stapleton previews the first of two albums he will be releasing this year, and it has all of the elements that conspired to make him the surprise success story of the past three years.

“Broken Halos” is a beautifully written song that celebrates fallen angels, expressing gratitude for them instead of wondering where they’ve gone off to or why they came down from Heaven in the first place. The idea may sound schmaltzy, like a new take on the Alabama standard, “Angels Among Us,” but if anything, it’s closer in spirit to “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.”

Stapleton’s vocals, of course, are beyond reproach, given an additional heavenly lift from his talented partner, Morgane Stapleton. There isn’t anything new here to convert the unconvinced, but Stapleton does a good job reminding the already converted why they fell from him in the first place.

Me, I’m more excited to hear his takes on the Willie Nelson hit, “The Last Thing I Needed the First Thing This Morning,” and on “Either Way,” a co-write of his recorded a few years ago by Lee Ann Womack. But this will tide me over just fine until From a Room: Volume 1 is released on May 5.

2 Comments

Nice to hear new Stapleton, even if it sounds a lot like some of his songs from Traveller. Still, he’s one of the best singers and songwriters in Country today so I could hear him sing a phone book and feel great about it. Looking forward to his new albums.